3tb drive formatting issues

[jimtron]

I've been having strange behavior with 3 TB 3.5" SATA hard drives. There's one that I was using with a Goflex dock. I was able to format it as a 3TB drive and use it without problems. Then I installed it inside an early Mac Pro (1,1) and DiskUtility didn't recognized the 3TB format. However, I was able to put a new 3TB drive inside the MP and format it that way, and then clone the data from the other 3TB drive.

This same issue has been happening with a Datatale 4 bay external FW enclosure I have; when I put one of the 3TB drives I've been using inside, they don't get recognized as 3TB formatted drives...but I am able to format them and use them as 3TB if I start from scratch.

In other words, it seems like whenever I move a drive from one device (dock, Mac Pro, external enclosure), it is no longer recognized (I get a dialog to initialize, and DiskUtility see the drives as unformatted). But if I format the disk in the new device, I'm able to format and clone the data without issue. I'm currently using a 2011 MBP; I just got rid of the MP.

Does anyone have any idea what's going on, and how to avoid this?

 

[marzer]

Not sure if it's related, but my OWC enclosures have a switch for drives over 2TB in size. Off, drives larger than 2TB show as 2TB for compatibility with older systems. On, it of course, shows drives at their native size even if over 2TB.

I would assume this means that there were limitations of older systems to see drives over 2TB in size.

 

[MaskAndWig]

3TB external and PPC Mac?

I'm sorry I don't have an answer to the OP's question, but it does raise a similar question for me. My primary computer is an iMac G5 (iSight) running 10.5.8. If I buy a Seagate 3TB external, will I be able to reformat it on my iMac and make use of the full 3TB capacity? Here's the drive I'm considering:

http://tinyurl.com/97wftvu

Thanks for your help!

 

[OliverOSX93]

What are you formatting the drives as? I don't want to insult you but it could be they are each formatting it in a way the other devices can not read.

 

[marzer]

What are you formatting the drives as? I don't want to insult you but it could be they are each formatting it in a way the other devices can not read.

Good point. Make sure the boot partition is set for GUID for newer, larger drives.

 

[jimtron]

Thanks for the replies, and sorry for the delay in responding.

I don't see any switch for bigger drives on my enclosures and docks.

Maskandwig, sorry, I don't know the answer to that.


I'm not home right now so I can't say for sure (I'll check when I get back in a couple days), but IIRC I've formatted the drives as journaled, GUID. But to clarify, the problem is not that I can't format them as 3TB--I haven't had any trouble with that. Is there a type of format that would be recognized in a GoFlex dock, but not in a Mac Pro, or vice versa?

Also, I haven't been able to get my NewerTech dock to recognize or format 3TB drives at all (though that's not the issue I'm posting about).

 

[jimtron]

Update: Here's a 3TB drive that always mounts fine in my Goflex dock, but no longer works in my Datatale enclosure (though it did before). Here are screenshots showing how the drive looks in DiskUtility; first working in the GoFlex, then not working in the other enclosure. The partition is showing as 0XEE when disk is in the Datatale enclosure; GUID when in the GoFlex dock.